View from south

Description View from south

Date 18/6/2001

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number E 15782 CN

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 769032

Scope and Content Prince Leopold's Cairn, Balmoral Estate, Aberdeenshire This mound of rough, local granite stones was built in 1882 on the summit of a hill overlooking the castle by Victoria, Albert, their children, the servants and the tenants as a landmark to celebrate the marriage of the queen's youngest son, Prince Leopold. Prince Leopold George Duncan was born in 1857, the eighth of nine children born to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He suffered from haemophilia, a genetic disorder in which the blood fails to clot properly, and which results in internal bleeding. He inherited the disorder from his mother, who was a carrier, and from whom haemophilia gets its nickname, the 'royal disease'. Leopold suffered from 'bleeding' at an early age, and his condition was reported in the British Medical Journal in 1868. In 1882 he married Princess Helena Frederica of Waldeck, and had two children, but died two years later at the age of 30 as the result of a haemorrhage after a fall. His daughter Alice was a carrier, and went on to have a son who was also a haemophiliac. The Balmoral estate was bought in 1852 by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria at their own expense as a Highland retreat from the stresses of London life. Prince Albert initiated many improvements, including the building of a new Balmoral Castle in 1853-5 that became Queen Victoria's favourite holiday home. The many cairns that were built on the skyline or in the woods around the castle show her firm attachment to the estate. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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